find the man in question standing in the doorway. His dark hair was combed back from his forehead, lean cheeks freshly shaved. He was wearing an expertly cut charcoal suit with a white shirt and conservatively patterned tie, yet her heart did the same little somersault it had upon seeing far more of his skin.
“I’m fine.” Eve spoke the words for her own benefit as well as his.
He nodded. “Well, not to rush you, but I do have someplace I need to be. I believe you said you wouldn’t take much of my time.”
“Right.” She retrieved her briefcase from the side of the chair. “I do things a little differently than Carole.”
“So I gathered,” he said dryly.
“For starters, when I shop for close relatives such as those on your list, I need to know something about them.” He opened his mouth, but before he could speak Eve added, “Something beyond their sex and age and your price range. For instance, what are their hobbies? Do they have a favorite color? Do they collect something? For the children, are they into video games, sports? Who’s their favorite recording artist? And for the record, I don’t believe in gift cards, fruit baskets, flower arrangements or the like. Anyone can purchase and send those. They don’t take any effort or require any thought. I won’t buy gifts like that.”
“Maybe I have the wrong person for the job.”
Dollar signs flashed in neon green before her eyes. This was a big account, the biggest by far of the ones Carole had fed her. The commission it was likely to bring would go a long way toward fattening up the bank account her cross-country move had depleted. Still, Eve crossed her arms, blinked the dollar signs away and said, “Maybe you do. It’s a matter of principle for me.”
He studied her a long moment before sighing. “What do you need?”
Eve opened her case and pulled out a folder, which she handed to him. “Given how difficult it’s been to reach you, I decided that instead of conducting an interview I would give you this questionnaire. Fill it out at your convenience, but if I could have it back to me by next Monday, that would great.”
“Anything else?”
She didn’t miss the sarcasm in his tone, but she chose to ignore it. “Actually, there is. While I don’t mind flying blind when it comes to buying gifts for business associates and clients, if you have any insights or personal anecdotes about any of the people on your list, I’d welcome them. Feel free to jot down anything that comes to you on the line I’ve provided next to their names.”
“Maybe I should go shopping with you.”
Again, she ignored his sarcasm. Smiling sweetly, she replied, “It’s kind of you to offer, but that won’t be necessary. Unless you really want to. I can always use someone to carry the purchases out to the parking lot.”
She wasn’t sure why she had just baited him, other than the fact that his arrogance rubbed her the wrong way.
“Excuse me, Mr. Burke?” the housekeeper said from the doorway. “The driver has brought the car around.”
“Fine.” He turned his attention back to Eve. “I believe we’re finished.”
“For now,” she affirmed and had the satisfaction of watching him scowl.
CHAPTER TWO
DAWSON prided himself on being the sort of man who thought outside the box when finding solutions for problems. It was one of the things that had helped make him a success in business. So, when adversity knocked Friday afternoon, he let opportunity answer the door.
“Your mother is on line one and Eve Hawley is on line two,” Rachel informed him.
“I’ll take the call from my mother. Tell Miss Hawley I’ll call her back.” As he said it, he glanced in the direction of his in-box, where the questionnaire she’d given him remained untouched. He had a good idea of the reason behind Eve’s call. He also knew why his mother was phoning. The charity ball was Saturday.
“Hello, Mom.”
“Dawson, darling. How are you?” she asked.
“Fine.”
“So, you always say,” she chided. “But I still worry about you.”
“There’s no need to, really.”
But she disagreed. “It’s a mother’s job.”
“I’m an adult, Mom. Thirty-eight last month,” he reminded her.
“Your age doesn’t matter. Nor, for that matter, does mine.” Tallulah was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “I know this is a difficult time of year for you.”
“Mom—”
“It’s a difficult time of the year for everyone,” she went on. “We all miss Sheila and Isabelle.”
Hearing the names of his late wife and daughter spoken aloud turned his voice unintentionally crisp, “Don’t. Just…don’t.” He softened the command with “Please.”
“Dawson—”
But he held firm, even if he did moderate his tone. “I prefer not to talk about them. I’ve made my wishes on that very clear.”
“What is clear,” Tallulah began, “is that you’ve locked yourself inside a prison of your own making for three very long years. You’ve always been a fairly rigid individual. But in that time, you’ve become overly controlling, overly driven. You don’t make any time for friends or family, let alone yourself. You spend every waking hour at the office.”
“Yes and Burke Financial has thrived as a direct result,” he replied. “The last quarter’s earnings were the best in the company’s history.”
“Your father and I don’t give a damn about the business,” she snapped. The fact that his mother had used even a mild curse had Dawson blinking in surprise. This was a woman who rarely raised her voice let alone lost her temper. Neither had ever been necessary. She’d always had more effective ways of getting her children to toe the line. She pulled out one of the big guns now. “I hate to say this, Dawson, but I’m very disappointed in you.”
He sank back in his chair and closed his eyes. Whether he was eight or thirty-eight, that particular weapon never failed to hit the mark.
His tone was contrite when he said, “I’m sorry you feel that way, Mom. That’s certainly not my intent.”
“I know.” But, of course, she wasn’t through. “Have you made plans for the holidays?”
It was a Burke tradition to gather for dinner at his parents’ estate on Christmas Eve. In fact, that had been his destination the evening of the crash. Ever since then, he hadn’t been able to make it. He expelled a ragged breath. “You know that I have.”
“San Tropez again?” she inquired, dismay obvious in her tone.
He’d gone to that tropical paradise the past two years, unable to remain in snowy Denver for the anniversary of that fateful night. This year, however, he’d decided
